Heritage Neighborhood Association

2004-March Meeting Minutes Drug Task Force Presentation

March 4th Meeting, Drug Task Force Presentation

Posted minutes from March 4, 2004 joint Sifton & Heritage Neighborhood Association Meeting

This was a combined meeting of the Sifton and Heritage Neighborhood Associations.

Sifton Neighborhood Association
Steve Hamilton, President
Lamont Shandlin, Vice President (not in attendance)
Alan Hoff, Treasurer

Heritage Neighborhood Association
Kathy Murphy, President (not in attendance)
Joe Pedron, Vice President
Robin Pedron, Secretary
Richard Wilhelm, Treasurer

Several Sifton members attended the meeting with a few from Heritage.

Steve Hamilton, Sifton, announced his new affiliation with the Sheriff’s Advisory Board. Please send any issues directly to Steve. Steve also mentioned that he recently attended a training session at the Fire District Training Center on NE 117th Avenue. They mentioned they wanted to have a free inspection and installation of free smoke detectors to local area residents. They also said that Sifton NA could hold monthly meetings there in the training center room each month on an ongoing basis, without having to re-reserve the room each month. Steve will follow up on this.

Al Hoff, Sifton, announced a new scam going around. A resident receives a letter telling them that their home loan (mortgage) has been sold and they are to send further payments to a particular address. If you do that, you may be out a month’s payment and get behind. If you get a letter like that, contact your mortgage lender immediately to check on this. Today’s technology can easily reproduce a company’s letterhead to look official.

Joe Pedron, Heritage, mentioned he had received a copy of the Development Agreement with Birtcher, Alexandria and City of Vancouver and it said nothing about a sound wall. Steve Hamilton responded that Lamon Shandlin (VP Sifton) is working on this. Steve also mentioned that Alexandria is still bound by a confidentiality agreement and can’t publicly announce who the stores are that will be coming to Eastgate Retail Plaza.

Deputy Ryan Taylor, Clark County Sheriff, introduced himself as one of two liaisons for the Sifton Neighborhood. He can be reached at 397-2211, ext. 5343. ryan.taylor@clark.wa.gov.

Speaker: Jim Payne, Clark County Sheriff, also School Resource Officer at Heritage High School, presented an ongoing issue currently under investigation with regard to attempts to locate a suspect in a possible attempted rape and several exposure incidents around Heritage High School. Suspect was last seen in the area of NE 124th Avenue and NE 83rd Street, and it is believed that the suspect lives in the area where he has been seen, perhaps north of the Padden Parkway. He appears in the early morning hours (between 5:30 – 7:00 a.m.) and has been described as a white male 5’-6” to 5’-10” tall, slender build, late teens or early 20’s, tall, slender build, uncombed brown hair, dark eyes, a rough complexion and unshaven. He has been seen each time wearing a grey or dark colored hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans, and may speak with an accent (possibly Russian or Eastern Europe). A flyer with a digital photo/artist’s rendering of the suspect was distributed. If you have any information, please contact Jim Payne at 397-2211 x5330, Reference Police report #S03-16575. If you suspect that you might see this person, call 911. Don’t get involved, it could be an innocent person. Perhaps get on your cell phone and follow him. A door-to-door citizen group will be looking for more information.

Speaker: John Hess, Clark/Skamania Drug Task Force Detective, Washington State Patrol presented a video on how to make meth and how to spot it in your neighborhood. Meth users are referred to as “tweekers”. Highlights included:
· Many recipes can be found on the Internet on how to make meth and head shops sell books on how to make the drug also.
· Meth is simple to make, 1 ounce in as little as 20 minutes. Ingredients are common to many households and typically include mason jars, wine bottles, small glass tubes, 5 gallon buckets, sinus medication, Coleman fuel, Red Devil products and more.
· In Clark County there can be from 100 to 250 labs at one time.
· Toxicity is very high and can be tracked into houses, cars, etc. on shoes and inhaled, explosions and fire can easily occur causing severe burns, property damage and even death.
· Dumping of these toxic chemicals contaminates our fields, waterways, drains, sewers and more causing harm to us, our pets, wildlife and overall quality of life.
· Exposure by children is on the rise, this can lead to our next generation of felons.
· Meth labs can be in kitchens, bathrooms, self-storage units, back of pick-ups and car trunks, picnic baskets, suitcases and many more places.
· Recognizing meth includes noticing orange, brown colored stains on sinks, floors, tubs and white power. Meth produces odors that are very pungent, smells like acetone, pain thinner, dirty socks, cat urine (please don’t confuse or report cat urine in conjunction with someone who has a lot of cats).
· If you come across one, don’t touch it. Stay calm, don’t overreact, don’t turn on or off any switches, watch where you walk, walk out and call law enforcement. Don’t be a hero.

John Hess also touched on dealing and use of marijuana/pot in Clark County. Highlights included
· Most neighborhoods have level 3 & 4 level dealers (1 being highest) and many are high school kids moving the stuff in athletic bags. If you suspect this may be happening and you witness movement of large athletic bags in/out and you know they aren’t athletes, call law enforcement. BCB or BC Bud is typical variety (from Canada).
· Other tell tale signs include strong odor of skunk weed, swampy smell.
· Covered windows with curtains pushed tight against windows, new or strange vents coming out of house, very bright lights, brush, stems and lab waste. Do they haul their own garbage away? Why aren’t they using a garbage collection service?

Other general guidelines for being aware of drug activity, if kids say “drug house”, pay attention, this can be very reliable. Don’t confront potential drug dealer, buyers, users. If they confront you, back away and get to safety. They like guns and knives. Meth is the hardest substance to wean a person off of. Meth manufacturing conviction is a 5 year sentence. This can be enhanced based on proximity to children, schools, school bus stops, accessibility to firearms. Many prisoners get 1/2 off their sentences most of the time. Violent crimes get 1/3rd off their sentence.

If you see suspicious activity in your neighborhood, document it and report it. License plates are good. Task Force can write warrants from citizen tips. You are anonymous unless you state you want to testify. Many citizens fear retaliation and they don’t testify so no results. Task force uses criminal informants to get suppliers. Very difficult to prosecute these days due to new laws and short-handedness in law enforcement. Only 6 detectives to work Clark & Skamania counties. They focus on high level dealers (1 being highest, 4 being lowest). John Hess can be reached at 360-256-5711, leave a message. Additional information can be found on www.stopdrugs.org.

Next meeting for Heritage Neighborhood Association will be held April 6, 2004 at 7:00 p.m., Fire Station 88 (corner Ward Rd. and Fourth Plain) in their conference room. Topics TBD.

Next meeting for Sifton Neighborhood Association will be held April _____ at 7:00 p.m., location ????. Topics TBD.